Month: December 2020

Actor Sonu Sood has launched yet another initiative to help the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic, under which he is gifting e-rickshaws to those who have lost their livelihood during the pandemic.

The ‘Dabangg’ actor introduced his new initiative which says ‘Khud kamaao ghar chalao’ on Instagram on Sunday.

The Bollywood actor-tuned-philanthropist said that the love that he has received from people has motivated him to “continue being there for them.”

“I have received a lot of love from people over the past few months. And that has motivated me to continue being there for them. So, I have launched the ‘Khud kamaao ghar chalaao’ initiative,” the 47-year-old said.

“I believe providing job opportunities is more important than distributing supplies. I’m sure that this initiative will help them stand on their feet yet again by making them self-reliant and self-sufficient,” he added.

Earlier this year, Sood had launched the Pravasi Rojgar app that created more than 50,000 job opportunities for those who lost their job due to the economic blow due to Covid pandemic.

The app connects them to multiple companies and also offers specific programs to help improve their skills.

The ‘Simmba,’ actor has been inspiring many across the country with his noble gestures.

He began by helping stranded migrant labourers return to their native places by arranging safe travel for them back in May this year. He has seen been helping out the needy and underprivileged sections of the country. (ANI)

There seems to be a renewed push by Pakistan to promulgate the Khalistani separatist movement by using Europe’s ultra-liberal ecosystem as its breeding ground, and perhaps time is running out for Europe to act fast before it is too late.

According to a report titled ‘Khalistan: A project of Pakistan” by Canadian think tank McDonald-Laurier Institute, the world has for long refused to accept the invisible hands of a maleficient ‘state’ pulling the strings from beyond the curtain in orchestrating and fanning the proliferation of Kashmiri and Khalistani separatist movements across the spectrum of Europe.

The first Khalistani flag was raised in Birmingham during the 1970s, giving an indication as to for how long Europe has been the centre-stage of the separatist movement.

It is the fresh impetus that the movement has been fuelled and funded by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), through a calibrated triggering of a renewed separatist mindset among the Sikh diaspora youth, which can be a real cause of worry for Europe, according to the Canadian think tank.

In July, the Union Home Ministry disclosed a list of nine individuals designated as Khalistani terrorists accused of spreading terrorism in India from the foreign soil. The list included three people from India: Bhupinder Singh Bhinda and Gurmeet Singh Bagga, based in Germany, and Paramjit Singh, based in the United Kingdom, who is the chief of Sikh terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa International.

It is important to note that Babbar Khalsa was responsible for the bombing of Air India Flight 182 travelling on the Montreal-London-Delhi route in 1985, which is also known as Kanishka bombing. Over 300 people were killed in the explosion, including Canadian, UK and Indian citizens.

There have been enough indications that Pakistan is using the Khalistani separatist organisations to create anti-India protests in key parts of Europe. For instance, a section of Indian diaspora in the UK was peacefully celebrating Independence Day outside the Indian High Commission in London last year, when they were violently confronted by a group of British Pakistanis and members of Khalistani separatist organisations.

London’s Pakistani Mayor was slammed online for the lackadaisical approach of his office and lack of security arrangements that led to the Indian citizens in the UK being attacked by British Pakistanis and Khalistani supporters on August 15, 2019

According to the Canadian think tank, the reciprocal relation between Pakistan and Europe’s Sikh separatist organisations can be noted by how two UK-based Sikh organisations, namely Sikh Network and Sikh Federation (UK), played a key role in honouring Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for the Kartarpur Corridor. Mayor Sadiq Khan was among the key speakers in the event.

In 2018, Nazir Ahmed, a member of UK’s House of Lords who hails from Pakistan, had openly expressed his support for the Khalistan movement and Referendum 2020.

This shows the visible institutional support that the Sikh separatist activities in the UK are receiving from British politicians and office-bearers.

The Canadian think tank in its report said that apart from UK, reports indicate that a new pattern is emerging in Italy, among the fresh Sikh immigrants arriving in hordes and seeking asylum on the pretext of being ‘persecuted in India’ for being members of Khalistani movement.

Several inputs have emerged on how Pakistani Army is playing a key role in pushing the ‘Referendum 2020’ agenda for Khalistani supporters, with names of Lt Colonel Shahid Mehmood Malhi coming up among those said to be spearheading the Khalistani project and masterminding the assassination of notable right-wing leaders in Punjab.

As Pakistan’s repeated funding of Islamic terrorism in Kashmir and elsewhere in India has failed to give any substantial returns and has instead increased pressure on the former nation, it has led to Pakistan changing gears and instigating a Khalistani separatist movement all over again for fomenting a new wave of unrest and militancy in India.

While asserting that key European nations need to take a cue from Canada’s bitterly learnt lessons on supporting the Khalistani movement, the report argued that the bigger issue at stake was the gravity of what Pakistan is planning from behind the curtains and how its scheming elements have a major role to play in orchestrating the Referendum 2020, which may be remotely controlled with an ‘ulterior motive’.

‘Referendum 2020’ would definitely be a test-case for some key European states as to whether they have matured as democratic liberal nations or been reduced to breeding grounds for separatist modules from across the world. (ANI)

The revelation this week of Huawei’s role in testing artificial intelligence surveillance technology, which includes a face-scanning camera system that can send an “Uyghur alarm” to police after detecting a member of the group, has sparked an international outcry against one of China’s most valuable tech companies.

Washington Post reported that despite the company’s claims that it is committed to human rights at the highest level, Huawei has worked with dozens of security contractors to develop surveillance products, some of which are said to be able to identify a person’s ethnicity and help suppress potential protests, according to company marketing documents.

The international backlash included a French soccer star, Antoine Griezmann, who publicly ended his work as a Huawei brand ambassador and urged the company to ‘condemn this mass repression’.

Meanwhile, Huawei representatives refuted the allegations, saying that the document outlining the “Uyghur alarm”, used language that is “completely unacceptable”.

“It is not compatible with the values of Huawei… Our technologies are not designed to identify ethnic groups,” said a representative.

However, products made by Huawei with four other partner companies were also advertised to have ethnicity-tracking capabilities, according to Chinese language marketing materials posted on a public Huawei website where the material could be downloaded by anyone who registered an account. After Washington Post approached Huawei for comment, the site briefly became inaccessible, and the number of product collaborations detailed on the site had dropped from over 2,000 to 38, after returning.

“We take the allegations in the Washington Post’s article very seriously and are investigating the issues raised within,” a Huawei spokesperson said in a statement to The Post.

Huawei and its partners have provided some of the surveillance products to authorities in China’s Xinjiang region, where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have detained thousands of Uyghur Muslims, in an attempt to control and assimilate the ethnic minority group through a mass ‘re-education’ campaign.

Among the surveillance products was a facial recognition system used by police in the Xinjiang capital, Urumqi, and a highway surveillance camera system for the region, according to documents from Huawei’s website.

The company’s partnerships reflect the ongoing expansion of surveillance in China, where top officials have called for police to use big data to fight crime, under the slogan, “One Person, One File,” a phrase signifying the use of disparate information streams, from surveillance footage to Internet chat history, to better track individuals, reported Washington Post.

Jerome Cohen, a veteran China human rights legal expert, said racial profiling and discrimination are prevalent in China. The country’s government is “engaging in racial profiling on a massive scale,” he said.

Marketing materials for products co-developed by Huawei with DeepGlint, Bresee and Maiyuesoft also mention ethnicity identification or search features. The three companies did not respond to requests for comment.

Classified documents known as the China Cables, accessed last year by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, threw light on how the Chinese government uses technology to control Uyghur Muslims worldwide.

However, China regularly denies such mistreatment and says the camps provide vocational training, while people in the internment camps have described being subjected to forced political indoctrination, torture, beatings, and denial of food and medicine, and say they have been prohibited from practising their religion or speaking their language. (ANI)

Mumbai Police has arrested Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani in the alleged TRP manipulation case.

Recently, Republic TV Network has alleged that its Assistant Vice President (Distribution) Ghanshyam Singh, who was released on bail by a city court on December 5 in the TRP controversy case, was “tortured and assaulted” during interrogation by Mumbai police.

An interim application has been filed by Republic Media Network before Bombay High Court stating that Singh was lashed with “chakki belt” while he was in the custody of Mumbai Police. He was arrested on November 10 in connection with the alleged Television Rating Point (TRP) scam.

The interim application says that police force was saying in Marathi “inko maaro maro maro”.

It says that Singh was forced to extend his hand before the police officers and he was whipped by a chakki belt three times (twice on the right hand and once on the left hand).

“It is thus clear that the methods of torture were preplanned and put in place even before Mr Singh’s questioning commenced, given the room was already laden with the said torture tools. Mr Singh suffered immense pain and cried out loudly because of the force with which the police officer was lashing him but the subordinate police officers following the instruction of the senior police officer kept lashing him,” the application says.

Singh had appeared before the Mumbai Police on October 9, October 11, October 20 and October 21 and was arrested by the Mumbai Police on November 10. (ANI)

The statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Washington was defaced and vandalised on Saturday (local time) by protestors who are supporting farmers in New Delhi agitating against the recently enacted agricultural laws in India.

According to sources, ‘Khalistan’ flags were also sighted at the spot when protesters vandalised the Bapu statue located in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington.

Earlier this month in London “Khalistani” flags were seen at a protest held outside the Indian High Commission where protestors raised anti-India and pro-farmer slogans.

The Mahatma’s statue in Washington was vandalised earlier this year on June 3 during the George Floyd protests by unknown persons. Post the desecration, an expert was called in to refurbish the Gandhi statue.

The statue was vandalised with graffiti and spray painting, prompting the Indian mission to register a complaint with the local law enforcement agencies. The desecrated statue of Gandhi, the design of which was created by Gautam Pal, was later covered and the site has been cleaned up.

The Indian Embassy in the US had then registered cases with the Metropolitan Police and the National Park police. The matter was reported immediately to the State Department and Deputy Secretary of State had called the Indian ambassador to address the issue. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun had apologised for the incident. Biegun had a month later inaugurated the refurbished Mahatma Gandhi statue along with the Indian envoy to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

The statue was dedicated by former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on September 16, 2000, during his state visit to the US, in the presence of the then US president Bill Clinton.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting for the last 17 days at the borders of Delhi against three farm laws. (ANI)

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that farmers’ agitation has gone into the hands of Maoist and Naxal elements and if it gets free from them, “our farmer brothers and sisters will definitely understand that the farm laws are in their favour and also of the nation”.

In an interview with ANI, he also said the government’s doors are open 24 hours for discussion with farmer brothers.

Goyal, who is Minister for Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution, said no solution is ever found by leaving the table after putting one point and maybe the agitation is being run by Maoists and Naxals powers.

He expressed confidence that farmers will get out of the influence of “these Maoists and Naxalites” and hold talks to find solutions to their concerns.

“The farmers will have to understand that this agitation has gone out of their hands into the hands of Maoists and Naxals. It was clear from visuals day before yesterday that this agitation…The farmers should get free of them,” he said.

“The government’s doors are open for farmer brothers for 24 hours for discussion. If this farmers agitation gets free from Maoist and Naxal elements then our farmer brothers and sisters will definitely understand that these farm bills are in their favour and also of the nation,” he said.

Goyal, who is also Minister of Railways and Commerce Industry, expressed confidence that most farmers stand with the new farm laws.

“I’m confident that most of the farmers stand with the laws, some of them had few reservations which have been sorted through talks. No solution is ever found by leaving the table after putting one point, that shows maybe movement has gone out of their hands and now it is being run by Maoists and Naxals powers,” he said.

Goyal, who has been part of the government’s talks with the farmers, indicated that Naxals create an atmosphere of fear and that is why farmer leaders could not gather the courage to talk about their issues. He said the government had also suggested forming a small committee which was not accepted by farmer leaders.

“They come for negotiation here, no one is ready to form a committee. Naxals create an atmosphere of fear and that is why the farmers’ leaders could not gather the courage to talk about the issues.”

The minister said the government fully trusts the farmers and expressed confidence that they will not allow Maoist and Naxal forces to exert their influence.

“We fully trust the farmers of India, they are peace-loving and they are our ‘annadatas’. We respect them and we have the confidence that they will not allow Maoist and Naxal forces to influence the people across the country,” he said.

The minister said eighteen opposition parties tried to do a bandh but failed miserably. “I have confidence in our farmers that they will get out of the influence of these Maoists and Naxalites, come and discuss with us and find solutions to their concerns.”

He said people understand Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working for new and self-reliant India to double farmers income and to create employment opportunities.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s credibility and popularity are so much that every person understands that he works for the interest of the people and for making Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.

Farmers have been protesting on Delhi borders against three farm laws enacted recently by the government. They have held five rounds of talks with the government and attended a meeting called by Home Minister Amit Shah. The farmer unions have rejected the proposal for changes in the laws made by the government and said they will intensify their agitation for repeal of the three laws. (ANI)

The physician of jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Dr Umesh Prasad on Saturday said that the latter’s kidney is functioning at 25 per cent and the situation can deteriorate at any time in future.

Dr Prasad has updated the authorities of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), where Yadav is admitted, in writing about this situation.

“I have said earlier also that it is true that Yadav’s kidney is functioning at 25 per cent. And this situation is alarming from this logic that his kidney functioning can deteriorate anytime. It is difficult to predict exactly when,” Dr Prasad told ANI.

“The rate at which his disease is getting worse and since he has diabetes for the last 20 years, his end organ is damaging in an escalating manner. So, the situation is alarming for the patient’s health. The higher authorities of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) have been informed in writing about Yadav’s health that emergency situation can arise at any time,” he added.

Dr Prasad also said, in his opinion, there is no need to transfer Yadav to any other medical facility as organ damage due to diabetes is irreversible and no medicine can cure it.

“The court or the government has to decide on whether he needs to be taken somewhere else for treatment. In my opinion, there will not be any major impact on his health if he is taken outside for treatment. This is because the damage in body organs due to diabetes is irreversible. There is no medicine which will make the kidney function at 100 per cent from 25 per cent. Otherwise, there will be no need for dialysis or kidney transplant,” he said.

“We have taken a decision that we will consult the resident nephrologist and decide on the further course of treatment of Lalu Prasad Yadav,” he added.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Jharkhand High Court deferred Yadav’s bail plea hearing in the fodder scam case to January 22, 2021 after considering a request made by Yadav’s lawyer.

The RJD leader was admitted to RIMS on August 30, 2018, after he surrendered at Birsa Munda Central Jail on Jharkhand court’s orders in the fodder scam.

Yadav had in October secured bail in connection with the Chaibasa treasury case related to the fodder scam. However, he is yet to secure bail in the Dumka treasury case.

Yadav, who had been in prison since December 2017, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 2018 under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the fodder scam case. Both the sentences are being served consecutively.

The case pertains to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.5 crores from the Dumka treasury by Animal Husbandry Department officials between 1991 and 1996 when Yadav served as the State’s Chief Minister. (ANI)

A total of 31 Constituencies are set to go for polling in the sixth phase of ongoing District Development Council (DDC) polls and 334 Panch and 77 Sarpanch seats will also witness voting on Sunday across Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing an evening press conference here, State Election Commissioner (SEC), KK Sharma informed that a total of 31 DDC constituencies will go to polls including 14 seats from Kashmir division and 17 from Jammu division.

SEC Sharma said that against the 14 DDC constituencies of the Kashmir division going to poll tomorrow, there are 124 candidates in fray including 47 females. In the Jammu division, there are 121 candidates in fray for the 17 DDC constituencies in this phase, including 53 females.

“A total of 7,48,301 electors (390432 male and 357869 female voters) are going to elect their representatives in all 31 DDC constituencies. A total of 2071 polling stations have been designated with 1208 in Kashmir division and 863 in Jammu division,” he said.

The SEC further informed that of 127 Sarpanch vacancies notified in the sixth phase, 37 have been elected unopposed. There shall be a contest in 77 constituencies and 229 candidates including 65 females are in the fray.

Similarly, he said that out of the total 1548 Panch vacancies notified in this phase, 334 constituencies will go for elections with 740 candidates contesting the elections including 180 female candidates.

The SEC said that all the requisite arrangements for this phase are in place including manpower, election material and security arrangements in all poll going areas.

While referring to the arrangements in place in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the SEC said adequate arrangements have been put in place to ensure the safety of all stakeholders including the voters coming to vote at the polling stations.

He further said that sanitizers, thermal scanners and face masks have been arranged at the polling stations to ensure that SOPs issued by the concerned authorities, including wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing, are strictly followed at the polling stations. (ANI)

The Taiwan government has taken a pro-China cable news TV station off the air as the country’s media regulator found that it failed to provide accurate information, The Straits Times reported.

After being removed from the cable TV network, the most-watched cable news station, Chung Tien Television (CTi) put out a 42-hour marathon live broadcast of its anchors and hosts telling about their experiences working for CTi, and its 26 years of broadcast history.

The station is owned by Want Want China Times Media Group, which also owns pro-China newspaper The China Times and snack manufacturer Want Want. The Want Want’s management is known for being critical of President Tsai Ing-wen’s pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the company-owned news outlets produce coverage that leans towards China.

On November 18, Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) announced that it had unanimously decided not to renew the licence which meant in effect to shut it down. After the expiry of its licence, CTi’s content can still stream on online platforms such as YouTube.

CTi had violated broadcast regulations repeatedly, with viewer complaints to the commission growing in the past three years, The Strait Times quoted Chen Yaw-shyang, NCC chairman as saying.

Last year alone, CTi was the subject of more than 960 public complaints to the regulator, or about 30 per cent of all complaints about TV programming, he added.

Chen also underlined the lack of balanced news reporting, saying Want Want chairman Tsai Eng-meng, who has long been an advocate of Taiwan’s unification with China, meddled in the station’s news production.

He is Taiwan’s second-richest man with a fortune of USD 5.6 billion (USD 7.6 billion), after Foxconn founder Terry Gou with USD 6.1 billion, The Straits Times quoted the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index.

CTi News received much public attention in the weeks leading up to Taiwan’s presidential election on January 11 this year, when many viewers noticed that the channel dedicated much of its coverage lauding the China-friendly candidate Han Kuo-yu. It zeroed in on details like his demeanour, the way he dressed and the jokes he made, The Straits Times reported.

The NCC’s decision to take CTi off the air may be the most severe penalty a local media outlet has received because of its ties with China, but it is not the first time that “red media”, or China-leaning media, has made headlines. In June last year, over 100,000 people marched in Taipei protesting against “red media” that leaned too close to China’s political views. Among the protesters were lawmakers from Ms Tsai’s DPP, third-party lawmakers and politicians, professors and Internet influencers, The Straits Times further reported.

CTi has hit back at the NCC, saying that the decision was politically motivated, which the NCC chairman dismissed.

Taiwan’s main opposition party, the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT), supported CTi, with KMT chairman Johnny Chiang protesting against “dirtying” the licence renewal decision with political meddling.

A week after the NCC’s decision in effect to shut down a pro-China cable TV station, CTi filed for an injunction but this was rejected by the court. The station said on Monday that it will be filing an appeal, but as of Friday, no appeal had been filed. (ANI)

Reflecting on the year 2020, Bollywood star Taapsee Pannu on Saturday shared a ‘monochrome’ picture of her being indulged in weekend thoughts.

The 33-year-old star took to Instagram to pen down a contemplative post, in which she delineated her year-end thoughts.

The caption of the monochrome picture that captures curly-haired Taapsee reads, “Closing towards end of the year…Leaving behind 2020 be like… lot of back room.”

With the post that senses the ‘Judwaa 2’ star being nostalgic about the memories she composed during the year, she garnered more than one lakh likes within a few minutes of being posted.

Despite the pandemic, this year has been professionally affluent for Taapsee as she received much praise for her 2020 released societal drama ‘Thappad’. Also, she has been aligned for three new much-anticipated projects like ‘Russell Peters: Deported’, ‘mystery thriller ‘Haseen Dillruba’ and sports drama ‘Rashmi Rocket’ for which she has been working her fingers to the bone. (ANI)